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Tripura approves Indo-Bangla rail link alignment

By Correspondent

AGARTALA, Jan 28 � Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Friday said the State Government has approved the alignment for proposed rail link between Akhaura (Agartala) to Gangasagar in Bangaldesh.

The Chief Minister, who was speaking in the 21st Tripura Industries and Commerce Fair here today, said the Railway Ministry had placed the alignment report for the proposed rail connectivity seeking the State Government�s nod.

�We have readily agreed on the proposed alignment as it will be feasible for both sides. Now, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between India and Bangladesh and hopefully the work will flag off shortly�, he said.

A joint survey to prepare the alignment for the 16 km Indo-Bangla rail link was carried out in September and later it was placed before the both governments for final decision.

The Chief Minister also made it clear that the construction of a bridge over river Feni in South Tripura district would also begin soon as the final alignment has already been made.

Referring to the Centre�s query on whether the State Government is ready to take up the construction work, Sarkar said �If Centre fails to fund the project, the State will spend Rs 12 crore to get the work done�.

According to the survey, the distant between Sabroom and Chittgong port stands at only 72 km, which will provide a major boost to the connectivity between the two sides.

The Chief Minister also underlined need to introduce air service between Agartala-Dhaka-Guwahati to explore potential in trade and commerce.

However, he criticised the Centre for delaying the face lift of Assam-Agartala National Highway (NH-44) even after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh�s announcement. �We want the Centre to expedite the work for better connectivity to the landlocked Tripura�, he added.

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